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Why I like Sarah Palin

However, a lot of people do. And I cannot understand it. I can understand what people see in John McCain – four years ago, if Bush hadn’t run or if he had run as an independent, I would have voted for him. I think he’s become a shill for his party now, but I can still see the attraction and I can see why.

The support for Palin baffles me. So I would like to ask my readers to speak up. I’m not going to judge you or make fun of you or make light of your decision. I don’t want commenters bashing people for their decision.

I just want to know what you see in Sarah Palin that makes you think she’s worthy of being Vice President.

Is it that:

1. She’s a woman and you want to support a woman in the White House? If yes, did you support Hillary Clinton? If you are one of the Clinton supporters who switched from Clinton to Palin simply because of her sex, does the fact that each woman has a diametrically opposite viewpoint make you reconsider your choice?

2. If no to #1, do you see yourself in Sarah Palin? Does she feel like one of us? Is it that she feels like a mom with a family? If you do identify with her on a personal level, do you think that you would make a good Vice President? If you knew that her household income was almost $200K and she has assets of over $2 Million, would you still feel like she’s just one of us?

3. If no to #1 and 2, do you think that she’s an impressive leader? Have you done research and learned about her problems as mayor? About her issues as governor? Do you think that someone who is a Vice President of the United States should be able to name a major newspaper or magazine? What about a Supreme Court case? Do you think that she would do a good job as President when she seems uninformed in almost every area of running the world’s most powerful country?

4. If no to #1-3, what is it? Why else do you like her?

Thank you for your input. I try to remain objective, and in a situation where I cannot, it’s very helpful to have different perspectives so that I can see something that I must be missing.

I think not blinking in negotiations is a good thing.
Also she reads the Economist. (But I think she may be getting The Magazine confused with Jim over in Finance. He has this tattoo on his arm that says Mom.)

UD beat me to it. I love that she winks at me when she talks. It’s like we have a secret bond. Also? Did you notice that her bangs never once knocked her fake eyelashes off? It was amazing. If the Republicans get elected and McCain dies, she (as our next Prez) could teach all women in the US how to get fake eyelashes to adhere as well as hers do. Fantastic, isn’t it?

Like you, I’m baffled as to why people like her, especially women.
In the town she was mayor of Wasilla, she passed a bill/law/whatever, that made rape victims pay for their own rape kits, $1,500, because it was helping save the town money.
She’s so completely anti-womens rights, it’s disgusting.

And in the debate, she actually said she was “tolerant” of gays.
Um, tolerant is just another way of saying hate but will be civil towards them.

And no, she’s not like me, she’s not like the majority of women/mothers in America.
She’s nothing like the normal women/mothers of this country.

I’m a little leery about posting my opinion on Sarah Palin here as I don’t want to get labeled “stupid” or “sheep” or whatever.

But, you did ask nicely. Besides, you asked why we *like* her, not whether or not we’re voting for her.

So I’ll admit it.

I *do* like Sarah Palin. And trust me, I have done a LOT of research on ALL the candidates. I’m not going to pretend like I understand everything… but, I’ve got the gist of it.

One of the biggest things I’ve noticed with people who have concerns regarding her as VP, would be her lack of experience.

Totally understandable.

However, I think she’s shown that she’s not incapable of learning. She’s a quick study and she kind of reminds me of a “diamond in the rough.”

I think the biggest favorable quality she’s got going for her, is the ability to communicate and her natural charisma. Whether anyone likes to admit it or not, she does have both and whether you can explain it or not, like it or not, the *majority* of Americans find her appealing.

Right now, our diplomatic relations are suffering big time. We need someone to stand beside the President and help smooth the way. Who knows how to communicate effectively and get points across that the President may not be doing as well.

You can learn anything you want, if you’ve got a properly functioning brain. Sarah Palin is obviously capable of learning quickly and I think that VP is a position she could grow into easily and will gain appeal with other countries.

I think she’s smart, she’s quick, she’s funny, she’s articulate, she’s got charisma, and a way of transcending the television monitors and all the logical, factual, reasons Why You Should Not Even Be Listening To Her… and ENGAGING you.

Joe Biden? Not so much. Listening to him was like eating dirt.

I think it’s interesting that so many people are screaming about Sarah Palin’s lack of experience to be the VP of the USA… yet, these very people are willing to rush a Senator into the position of PRESIDENT with only 143 actual days of experience in the US Senate. Hmm…

I say “screw it!” I want to move to Europe, anyway…

So, I don’t know if I completely answered your question(s), but I hope I kind of gave you at least an idea. To fully explain would mean writing an entire post on my own blog — which, I’m trying to stay away from.

I know who I’m voting for and why. That’s all that matters… I’m not out to change anyone else’s mind. Because the fact of the matter is, Adam, that some people are going to appeal to you and you’ll like right off the bat. Others you won’t. Sometimes, as hard as it is to accept, there’s no rhyme or reason… there just “is.”

Anyway… I think that’s all I’m going to say for now. The cough syrup… it’s swimming around in my brain and making me looooopy! I hate being sick!!!

Jesus, all four of them are complete douches and liars. The only difference between them is that mccain will use our tax dollars on the military and immigration while obama will use them to reward people for not doing shit.

I like Sarah Palin because the movie Legally Blonde was, like, totally awesome. And it proved that pretty girls are really smarter underneath than ugly ones, but they don’t show it because smart isn’t as cool as pretty. So smart ugly girls like Hillary don’t get to hang out with all the cool kids. That’s, like, the American way. Toodles.

I knew there had to be a twist when I saw the post title in twitter. Thank God. I might lose all faith in humanity if I thought you actually liked her. I don’t get it. I guess the people that like her – and I actually know some IRL, in this God-forsaken town – are willfully ignorant of her incompetence, ignorance, and dogged betrayal of feminism.

I like sarah palin because as a woman I can now say I am voting for the other side because they picked someone of my gender or as a white poor person I can say I am voting for her because she is down to earth and folksy, and now I don’t have to admit that I am a racist/am retarded and vote against my best interests/think obama is a muslim. And you are a sexist for hating on sarah palin, even though it turns out that by voting for mccain/palin on the basis of Palin’s gender I’m actually the sexist.

I do understand why people find Palin ‘engaging’. It’s because TELEVISION has trained our society to put form over substance.

And the next person who says ‘she’s one of ‘US’ is going to get a shiv because she is NOT—-unless you are a POLITICIAN with a background in TELEVISION.

And before anyone starts asking me to ‘justify’ Obama let me just say that I’ve only gone there because there is no other choice at this point. (Cover your eyes Britt) Obama still seems to me a lot of hat without much cattle.

I’m with you Adam about McCain—-he used to be someone I’d vote for. Now he is a shill pandering to the far right in his VP pick because he is SO DESPERATE to get elected.

Palin does NOT communicate in a way that is taken seriously by ANYONE who is not enamored of Fox News. Go watch her whine on Fox News about how it was ‘unfair’ of Katie Couric to ask her such ‘hard questions’like what news sources she uses. Wow.

You already know I don’t like her.
And it isn’t her lack of experience – it’s her lack of knowledge. And her winking. And her absolute faith in people that if she winks she can charm people. Also, I now hate the word “maverick”.
Anyway, have a good weekend!

I read the book about her by Kaylene Johnson. It documents her childhood through her inauguration as Governor of Alaska. Here are just a few of the things I like about her:
-When offered money from private institutions during her campaign for Governor, she said “no.” Instead she told them all she really needed was their vote and if maybe they could put up a yard sign. She did not want to be indebted to anyone and she proved this while in Alaska, blowing the whistle on many in her own party when it wasn’t the popular thing to do.
-She also refused money from citizens who supported her when she knew that they couldn’t really afford it, telling them too, she just needed their vote.
-This is a small thing but it speaks to her character: she got rid of the Governor’s chef the very first week she took office, saying that taxpayers didn’t need to pay for a chef when she and her family were perfectly capable of cooking for themselves.
-As a woman and as a conservative, I am relieved that there is finally a woman on the national radar that gets the NOW all worked up. Personally, feminism isn’t entirely about whether or not you believe in abortion, but rather about women breaking through glass ceilings that were previously impossible to break through. I like her values and I like that she’s not afraid to speak them out loud.
-Unlike many politicians who come from a long line of money-infused politicians, she worked her way up the political ladder using grassroots campaigns and a true desire to work for the people.
-Finally, she’s not from Washington. She is a breath of fresh air politically and I think it would be exciting to watch her shake things up.

There are more reasons but I think I’ve hijacked your comments enough.

What scares me is that people like George and Sara because they are down to earth and folksy. And they don’t like many of the democrats because they are hard to listen to. Seriously, you are not inviting them to dinner…. they are running your fucking country – wouldn’t you want that person to be really intelligent?

I am offended that they actually thought that #1 might work. I was a Hilary supporter and I was not deceived.

Can I point out that only one person so far has actually said what they like about her without putting Obama down? You should be able to defend your candidate without your only fuel being the opposition. It shouldn’t be the lesser of two evils, you should be proud of who you’re voting for

I have my own election to sort out right now. How many people know about my election right now?

I heard a discussion on the radio the day of the VP debate saying that they would rather watch that then listen to our own debate that was on the same night. The American election was so much more “interesting.”

You know how they say there’s no such thing as bad publicity? Well, I think that’s what Sarah has got going for her. I see all these blogs and tweets going on and on about her.

Clearly she strikes a cord with everyone, be it bad or good. And I think that is why her and McCain will get in.

All of my Canadian friends up here, we’ve had discussions on your election, and we’re all pretty much unanimous that McCain to win. We have no doubt in our minds.

Coming from a marketing background, I think McCain was genius for brining Palin in. I can’t stand politics, and avoid it like the plague. But wow, I cannot avoid hearing about her- TV, radio, blogs, tweets, coffeeshop conversations (and let’s remember – I’m NOT in the US)

It’s fascinating to observe from a semi (since this will affect us too) outsiders perspective…

*Cheer* to Empanada. And, Britt’s busy standing around at Grand Central Station, so I’d just like to say I enjoyed her point she made last night at dinner that no matter which candidate wins they represent ALL of us, so don’t insult the people who are going to vote for Not-You, because if you *DO* get elected you still work for all of us, not just the people who democratically choose (as in, this is a democracy) to vote for you.

I’m pretty certain I don’t like her. I don’t trust her. I’m scared of her. But I can’t not follow her and keep tuning in when she’s around. Something about her fascinates me and I can’t explain why.

But I am there with you on McCain. I actually did vote for him in the 2000 primary. Now though, I’m not entirely sure what to make of him. Maybe it’s because we finally get to really see him and some of the mystique is now gone. Guess that’s what happens when you have your life picked apart by the media and the Web.

I don’t like her because I think she’s a big-government tax and spend politician. She left Wasilla $20 million in debt.

She DIDN’T “get rid” of the chef, he was simply reassigned to be a chef in the legislature’s cafeteria.

Alaska has the highest per-capita tax burden in the US.

Alaska gets the most federal tax dollars per-capita in the US.

And I think she just isn’t a very serious person. All this giggling and winking and all that other crap just makes me feel like she thinks this is just one big beauty contest and the issues aren’t all that important.

She’s a complete tool and I can’t for the life of me figure out what she’s doing on such an important ticket. The only thing I’d vote for her to be is a school crossing guard. She seems to have enough IQ for that, at least.

I’m not going to answer your question. Not because I don’t want to, but because I can’t. I do not like anything about Sarah Palin. Ugh, she scares me. Her lack of knowledge of ANYTHING makes me cringe. And the fact that there’s a very small chance that she might actually be our president one day (heaven forbid anything happen to McCain… IF they get elected) makes me throw up a little bit in my mouth. I don’t understand what anyone could see in her.

I like Sarah Palin. I don’t want her to be my VP, but I like her.
She seems like a nice lady.
However.
(I am about to be a traitor to my sex here)
I don’t want a female President. It scares me a little bit ::ducking for cover::

I would have liked to see a Biden/McCain ticket…in that order. :thumbsup:

Cheryl of Bread and Bread said it best- Sarah Palin is a mascot, a cheerleader. The fact that most of the country would prefer to hear slogans rather than thoughtful commentary or plans is what bugs me.

And if I have to listen to a public servant say Nu-cu-lure for four more years, I swear to any god you care to name that my head WILL explode. :banghead:

Avi, that’s a great post. I’m impressed with your willingness to listen to the other side. I appreciate that, but reading over the few comments that supported her as a VP candidate, I still don’t get it.

I simply do not agree with what she stands for. Her appeal? I feel the Bottom line is, she’s cute….no mystery. The camera likes her. It always comes back to beauty. Unfair but a complete reflection on our society. Americans no longer want smart, fearless leaders – we want celebrites. We want image.
Fluff.
Those who support McCain but aren’t thrilled with Palin need to think long and hard about their vote…the man has been through hell….I wonder about his ability to get through this hard campaign AND tough years in the White House….there is a real possibility she’ll be batting those ‘well-glued’ eyelashes at us from the Oval Office.
…..and we’ll get getting exactly what we deserve….

I honestly can’t give you an exact reason why I like Sarah Palin. Sure, she’s personable, she’s pretty, she’s got major potential, as far as being the vice president.

I never thought that I would be voting for a woman, honestly. I will probably get some major bashing but I don’t really think that a woman should be in the White House. I don’t think that we, as a country, are ready for that.

My vote will be going to John McCain inspite of Sarah Palin, not because of her. However, I respect Sarah Palin as a woman, as a wife, as a mother, as a political figure.

I’m with Functionally ReTodded on this one. All four of the candidates are nothing more than airbrushed windbags who parrot their party’s line while managing to not betray a hint of individuality themselves. I don’t like Sarah Palin. But then again I don’t like Biden either. And I have a seething hatred of the both Obama and McCain. Bastards!

Sarah Palin annoys the crap out of me.
Ugh.
Her voice, her mannerisms, her politics, her over-confidence, AND the fact that she puts her job ahead of her family.
If, god forbid, they get elected, and if, god forbid, McCain dies, then I may just have to move to Canada or something.
:banghead:

I don’t like her. I tried to like her, honestly I did. I felt that as a woman married to a soldier, I “should” vote the McCain/Palin ticket. however, the more I learned of this woman, the more I couldn’t tolerate her. I actually researched her, trying with all my might to find a way to justify to myself the vote for her. I’m not sure why other than I tend to be loyal.

In the end, my vote will go to Obama. Words I never thought I’d say.

Britt also had a good point… Is THIS really the best he could do for a running mate? No, it’s not. But golly she sure is cute.

I am offended as hell for all the sexist reasons McCain picked her to be his running mate. It’s obvious he picked her because of the ovary vote he hoped to get, the people who aren’t politically driven and her “homey” approach will appeal to them, the fact that she looks cute and approachable.

While I would like for politicians to be personable, that isn’t my biggest concern. I want to know that they understand the issues, they can think of the long term impact of each decision they make, I think they should be able to answer a direct question without winking at the camera. I don’t think we should have to wait for our president to do interviews to explain why the VP just shit all over his foreign policy beliefs, as if she can’t be held responsible for her own soundbites.

I have to say, as an outed McCain supporter, that I don’t really like Sarah Palin. She doesn’t seem like the person I would want to be my president. But, I’m votng for McCain for president. My grandfather is older than him, has been through a lot, and seems a lot more frail than him, but I still expect my grandfather will make it through the next 4 years.

However, I think that yes, making $200K a year and having $2mil in investments does make her like me. I don’t have (or make) near that amount, but I didn’t work as hard as she did. I am in the group of families that Obama thinks is rich, because we have a family income of over $80,000 a year. Of course that family has 4 adults, 2 kids, and 3 dogs, so I don’t really feel rich, but I hate being hated because my man worked so hard all his life to make a pithy $78,000/yr. I have a mild income to cover gas and food, because without extra help we still can’t afford the basics.

But, like I said, I’m voting for President, I’ll accept the VP. AND? BTW? She had kids in the audience at the debate. You try to look your young children in the eye when you’re doing something you want them to be proud of, and just try to not wink at them!

We’ve talked about this in person, but a few things have changed in recent weeks, as in…debates and interviews.

I LIKE Sarah Palin. As a person. But that doesn’t mean I think she’s qualified for the position she’s running for. Her interviews with ABC and CBS scared the living shit out of me.

That said, I’m not voting for HER. I’m voting for the president. That’s McCain and Obama. And yeah, I know you’ll start on the actuarial table argument and it’s a good one. I’m certainly more on the fence this year than I ever have been before.

But when picking a president, I want experience. Obama has less than 200 active days of service on The Hill. He’s a great speaker, good ideas…that doesn’t mean he’s qualified to be President.

I really haven’t made up my mind yet. I was hoping that the debates would show me something, but they didn’t. The town hall thing was a total joke.